It may not have lasted long, but his time in the west was a success.
The 100-cap All Black Mils Muliaina joined Connacht under quite a lot of fanfare. His first game was delayed due to an elbow injury, but his impact off the pitch was immediate.
Now it appears that Connacht will have to do without his services from next season on after the Kiwi star agreed to joined Italian side Zebre:
Fullback Mils Muliaina has signed a new deal with #PRO12 side Zebre for next season - http://t.co/i0eYMgthcn pic.twitter.com/MuWOyKyksD
— Connacht Rugby (@connachtrugby) April 1, 2015
Connacht's players played with a belief that fans used to travelling to the Sportsground have rarely witnessed before. The benefit that an All Black of his experience had on the likes of Robbie Henshaw, Danie Poolman, Dave McSharry, Tiernan O'Hallorhan and Matt Healy was huge, and each have made big improvements on their game this season that should set Connacht up nicely for the next few years. Each of those players mentioned had their best ever seasons, and it's no coincidence that it happened with Muliaina in town.
His on-field achievements haven't lived up to the same success. He played with commitment and intelligence when he donned the famous green jersey, but it's clear that at 35 years of age, 100 international caps and countless injuries that time was starting to catch up with him. Despite this, he has helped Connacht to one of their best seasons ever. Granted it's not over and there are a lot of things that can go wrong, but they have earned a lot of overdue respect from the rugby world with some results this season.
He was a deserved starter in his year in Galway, and while he played well - his Connacht stay will be remembered as a success more for the off-field impact with players and fans than his displays on it.
